No. 9 MSU Falls To 22nd-Ranked Wolfpack In ITA Kickoff Finale

Sunday, January 26

Starkville

1 p.m.

Mississippi State

NC State

Photo by: Hallie Walker/Mississippi State Athletics

No. 9 MSU Falls To 22nd-Ranked Wolfpack In ITA Kickoff Finale

January 26, 2025 | Men's Tennis

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By: Logan Lowery, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – No. 9 Mississippi State fell to 22^nd-ranked NC State 4-1 in the championship match of ITA Kickoff Weekend on Sunday.

It was the first loss of the season for the now 6-1 Bulldogs, who were hosting ITA Kickoff Weekend for the third time in the past four years and seventh time since 2013.

Doubles went down to the wire with the final two matches both going into tiebreakers. The Wolfpack (4-1) eventually earned the doubles point and also claimed the first singles win as well.

MSU's lone victory on the afternoon came when No. 72 Niccolo Baroni beat Fons Van Sambeek in straight-sets 6-3, 6-3. The freshman from Viareggio, Italy is now 10-2 in singles on the year and a perfect 5-0 during dual match play.

NC State went on to take the next two singles matches to punch its ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships next month in Dallas and Waco, Texas.

The Bulldogs are back in action next Sunday as part of a quadruple-header with the women's team. Matt Roberts' squad opens play against Tulane at 9 a.m. and are scheduled to take on Tennessee Tech at 1 p.m.

No. 9 Mississippi State 1, No. 22 NC State 4
Rula Tennis Pavilion | Starkville, Miss.
Jan. 26, 2025

Doubles:
1. No. 102 Braden Shick/Fons Van Sambeek (NCST) def. No. 9 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 7-6(4)
2. Jules Leroux/Luca Staeheli (NCST) def. No. 20 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) 6-3
3. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) vs. Martin Borisiouk/Noah Gabriel (NCST) 6-6 (9-9), unfinished
Order of finish: (2,1)

Singles:
1. No. 17 Braden Shick (NCST) def. No. 45 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) 6-2, 7-6(4)
2. No. 103 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) vs No. 26 Martin Borisiouk (NCST) 3-6, 4-5, unfinished
3. No. 97 Luca Staeheli (NCST) def. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) 6-0, 6-4
4. No. 72 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Fons Van Sambeek (NCST) 6-3, 6-3
5. No. 81 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) vs William Manning (NCST) 7-5, 4-3, unfinished
6. Jules Leroux (NCST) def. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: (3,4,1,6)

For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.

For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.